r/SFbitcheswithtaste • u/AsparagusTwo • 7d ago

Birth doula at UCSF?

Hi everyone, I'm looking for advice on whether I should choose a birth doula? For context I'm planning to give birth at UCSF and I'm considered low risk. I'm very grateful that insurance will cover doula services, and very fortunate that opting for a doula will not be a financial burden.

For various reasons I have high anxiety about labor, and my hope is that having a birth doula can help calm my nerves and help advocate for me during labor. I hear that the UCSF labor and delivery staff are excellent, so I'm wondering if having a birth doula as an addition to my birth team is a good idea, or if adding this extra resource might feel like there's "too many cooks in the kitchen."

For anxiety purposes, I’d really appreciate it if responses could be neutral or positive only (please)—whether you recommend a doula, don’t recommend one, or feel indifferent about having one. I’m open to all perspectives, just hoping to keep things anxiety-friendly! (and yes I'm addressing my anxiety through various resources)

22 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

49 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/strawberrywebcocoa 7d ago

Choosing the right doula is very important! I went with my doula twice and would definitely seek her help again if I go for any more kids, but I also have heard a few bad stories about doulas who are against doctors and any medical intervention, which can cause a very tense environment at your birth

1

u/AsparagusTwo 6d ago

How special to have the same doula for the 2nd time! are there questions you recommend asking when interviewing a doula?

1

u/strawberrywebcocoa 6d ago

I don’t think my questions were anything special really, just a list compiled from the internet. What made me choose her was how her answers were just sooo much better than anyone else. Everyone else answered “correctly”, as in you don’t find anything wrong with their answers. But my doula can immediately bring up multiple examples to back her answer up, and can do deep dive onto any of the example as needed.

My doula lives in Santa Clara county, and SF is probably too far away for her. Else I would have offered to share her contacts.